District instructional coaches Heather Fleming (K–12 instructional coach) and Leah Johnston (early literacy instructional coach) presented the board on March 5 about the district's multi-year literacy alignment and its recent "reboot" with Oregon RTI.
Fleming and Johnston described a coordinated effort that began with adoption of universal screeners and research-based practices, moved through adoption of explicit phonics routines and ECRI (Enhanced Core Reading Instruction) for K–2, and now focuses on refining tier 2 and tier 3 supports. They said participation in Oregon RTI is grant-funded and provides coaching, professional development and a district implementation roadmap.
Johnston read the district's updated RTI literacy vision: "We envision a responsive system grounded in high-quality core instruction and timely, effective interventions where collaboration, assessment, and data-driven teaching ensure every learner experiences continuous literacy growth and achieves proficiency on district and state standards." The presenters highlighted state recognition and an invitation to present at the Oregon RTI spring conference.
As an example of impact, the coaches cited an individual fifth-grade case in which a student progressed from about three words per minute in fall to roughly 90 words per minute by spring—an example the presenters described as "lifechanging growth." Fleming and Johnston said the district saw reduced summer learning loss and improved alignment between the two elementary campuses after ECRI implementation.
Board members were invited to learn more; staff said eight teachers will attend the statewide RTI conference through grant funding and that data and additional reporting will be shared with the board in follow-up sessions.
Next steps: continue tier 2/tier 3 refinements, maintain coaching and professional development funded through grants, and present more detailed data at future board meetings.